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The Force Awakens Around the World: Star Wars Fans Invited to Join Epic Global Event on YouTube. Toy unboxing phenomenon goes live globally for the first time ahead of ‘Force Friday’. Online event featuring talent from the Maker Studios network gives fans first look at film-inspired toys ahead of midnight madness at retail.

Glendale, Calif. (Aug. 25, 2015) – Star Wars: The Force Awakens products are set to be unveiled in the world’s first-ever global live toy unboxing event. Unfolding over 18 hours in 15 cities and 12 countries, the event will see highlights from the range of epic merchandise revealed in a rolling New Year’s Eve style celebration featuring top digital stars from the Maker Studios network. Star Wars toys have always played an important role in how our fans interact with the Saga,” says Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. “They’ve inspired multiple generations to relive the experience of the movies and to create new adventures all their own. These spectacular Star Wars: The Force Awakens products will continue that tradition.”

Kicking off in Sydney, Australia on the morning of September 3, and continuing through Asia, Europe, Canada, and North & South America, selections from the new toy line will debut to global fanfare leading up to retailers around the globe opening their doors at midnight. Over the course of 18 hours, some of Maker Studios’ biggest stars will each be unboxing a new toy from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens product line in a different city around the world and sharing the experience live on YouTube.” said Leslie Ferraro, President, Disney Consumer Products. “We’ve seen tremendous excitement for these new products and can’t wait to see the global reaction from the Star Wars fan community.”

The Star Wars YouTube channel will host the live stream, which kicks off with the first unboxing in Sydney, Australia at 7:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 3 (5:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 2), with the grand finale at Lucasfilm in San Francisco at 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, Sept. 3. Each of the 15 locations will reveal a new product inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

These “unboxing” videos will feature online personalities sharing the excitement of opening the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys. Unboxing videos overall have captivated millions of Internet viewers and continue to grow in popularity. Eighteen of the top 100 most viewed YouTube Channels worldwide are dedicated to toys and toy unboxings. These 18 channels accounted for 8.1 billion views in Q1 2015.

We’re excited to be part of this first-of-its-kind initiative,” said Chris M. Williams, Chief Audience Officer, Maker Studios. “The unboxing world continues to expand rapidly as audiences around the world connect with digital creators who share their passions. This shared fandom helps attract billions of monthly views and consistently puts the genre at the top of the YouTube charts.”

The global unboxing event will incorporate traditional toy unboxers such as the popular EvanTubeHD, channels featuring families such as Bratayley, lifehack specialists such as ExpCaseros, gamers such as AlexBy11 and Star Wars fans from around the world, including Chris Pirillo, bringing with them a broad audience and appeal. The global line-up includes:

COUNTRY

CITY

MAKER TALENT

LOCAL TIME 9/3

EDT

Australia

Sydney

Bratayley

07:45

17:45 9/2

Japan

Tokyo

Einshine

11:00

22:00 9/2

Korea

Seoul

Dollastic

12:00

23:00 9/2

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Dante Basco

12:00

00:00 9/3

France

Paris

AyPierre

09:00

03:00 9/3

Spain

Madrid

AlexBy11

11:00

05:00 9/3

Germany

Berlin

Reyst

12:00

06:00 9/3

England

London

GamingBeaver

11:30

06:30 9/3

Brazil

Rio de Janeiro

Malena010102

08:30

07:30 9/3

USA

New York

EvanTubeHD

08:30

08:30 9/3

Canada

Toronto

Quill18

09:00

09:00 9/3

USA

Chicago

HobbyKidsTV

08:30

09:30 9/3

Mexico

Mexico City

ExpCaseros

09:30

10:30 9/3

USA

San Francisco

Chris Pirillo

08:00

11:00 9/3

The full schedule also is available at www.StarWars.com. Several countries will join the live stream from YouTube Spaces (Berlin, Tokyo, London), with Star Wars commentators Anthony Carboni and Andi Gutierrez hosting the event from the YouTube Space, Los Angeles.

Fans can tune in to watch live unboxings at home or on mobile devices, and also enjoy the latest trailers on the upcoming movie, commentary from special guests, fun product videos and demos, and footage from recent Star Wars events. The global celebration culminates at midnight local time, when many retailers around the world will open their doors to fans to purchase Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys, collectibles, books, apparel and more. Visit starwars.com for more details on participating locations. Additionally, select Disney Store locations around the world will take part. More details are available at www.disneystore.com/ForceFriday. Fans are encouraged to document their experiences around the event on social media using the hashtag #ForceFriday.

South Africa is getting into the Action Too!

Happening now until 7 September, visitors to Sandton City in Johannesburg and Canal Walk in Cape Town, will be able take a trip through the Star Wars™ universe that will showcase art gallery installations of some of the most iconic moments from the six Star Wars™ films. Together with fun facts and behind the scenes details, the installation will also feature some of the iconic Lego® Star Wars ™ sets that have captured the imaginations of young (and old) fans alike for decades.

The Black Box:
Visitors to the exhibition will notice a mysterious black box, situated in the center of the exhibition. As STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS product is steadily revealed across the globe in celebration of Force Friday (4 September), the black box will be unveiled, showcasing the brand new products and merchandise from STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS , with information on where South African Star Wars ™ fans will be able to get their hands on the product.

About Gert Rautenbach

Mad Scientist by day, Reviewer by night, These are the strange tales of the man known to most as LukeRaNcOr! I am an avid collector of Comics and Games(starting from the very old ZX Spectrum) and a intermediate(hoping for advanced) scale model builder. I also like Anime especially mecha based anime and build electronic circuits for my quest in World Domination! If I'm not doing any of the above I relax with a good book and the company of my awesome wife that supports my endeavors of being the best Mad Scientist there can be!